Just making a feature is an achievement; doing it for £3,000 is particularly impressive. Doing it as a writer/director/photographer and turning 18 on the first day of the shoot is surely the sign of a fantastic film-maker announcing his presence.
Rob Savage’s Strings is refreshingly honest and painfully raw account of teenage romance.
The story follows four young people and their romantic endeavours in that blissful summer before they leave home to go to university. Grace (Philine Lembeck) is a visiting German student, soon to return home. She falls for the quiet, distant Jon (played by an excellent Oliver Malam), whilst her best friend Scout (Hannah Wilder) becomes entangled in an increasingly violent relationship with her long-term boyfriend Chris (Akbar Ali).
The four lead actors rise to the challenge of portraying the confusion of teenage romance. Credit to Mr Savage for reining in their performances to create a muted, nuanced piece. Everything from the sparse use of sound, the interspersed smatterings of German, and the lighting create an almost haunting effect, drawing you in and immersing you in the story. Surely a talent for the future.
Krystyna Kosciuszko, Raindance Film Festival